Jesse W. Beams Award

The Jesse W. Beams Research Award, first presented in 1973, was established by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society to recognize especially significant or meritorious research in physics, the major portion of which was carried out while the recipient was resident in the ten-state region of the Southeast. The award is named for Jesse Wakefield Beams, a remarkably broad and productive experimental physicist who received his Ph.D. from and spent most of his career at the University of Virginia. His many outstanding contributions to physics research include: construction of the first electron linear accelerator, development of the magnetic ultracentrifuge with many practical applications in both the physical and biological sciences, and improvement of the Cavendish technique for the determination of the gravitational constant. He served as president of the American Physical Society in 1958, and received the National Medal of Science in 1967. The Beams Award honors those whose research led to the discovery of new phenomena or states of matter, provided fundamental insights in physics, or involved the development of experimental or theoretical techniques that enabled others to make key advances in physics, and the contributions of the award recipient should have received the critical acclaim of peers nationally and internationally.

Nomination Information

Nominations for each award should be sent to the award committee chair by August 14 in the form of a single pdf file. (If electronic submission is not possible, please send four copies of the nomination.) A complete nomination consists of a CV, a nominating letter and up to three supporting letters (a maximum of two pages each). At least one of the letters should be from an institution other than the nominee's home institution. No other supporting documents are needed, but may be included. We particularly encourage you to think of potential women and minority candidates. Nominations will be considered active for three years, though updating materials for nominees not chosen in the prior year is encouraged. Past winners are listed below. The nominator is also asked to send an email to SESAPS Chair Michel Pleimling (pleim@vt.edu) and Vice-Chair Nadia Fomin (nfomin@utk.edu) of the Section informing them of the submission.